Former Tuscaloosa sheriff's sergeant sentenced for wrongfully using Taser on prisoners

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- A former Tuscaloosa County sheriff's sergeant was sentenced today to five years and one month in prison on federal charges that she wrongfully used a Taser as punishment on prisoners on three separate occasions in 2008.

"Members of law enforcement have to be held accountable when they violate the civil rights of those under their custody and control," Assistant U. S. Attorney Tamarra Matthews Johnson said after the hearing.

Tommy Spina, one of Mallisham's attorneys, said she accepted responsibility for what she did. "But those instances of misconduct on her part should not overshadow her exemplary commitment to helping others throughout her life."

Mallisham pleaded guilty last year to three counts of deprivation of rights under color of law.

Mallisham admitted in a plea agreement that she used an X26 Taser to electro-shock three different prisoners who were either in handcuffs or locked in a cell and did not pose a threat to her.